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The Immaculate Order

The Shogunate is dead, but its institutions live on. Founded after the Usurpation, the Immaculate Order of the World of Steel and Glass has changed over the centuries, drifting through various incarnations. Still by far the most populous religion in the world, the Order is the titan of Creation, religiously speaking, and those who choose to stand against it do so at their own peril.

Doctrine

The Immaculate Order continues to preach the story of the Five Immaculate Dragons, whom the Elemental Dragons and Gaia sent to Creation during the Usurpation to guide the valourous Dragon-Blooded to victory against the evil Anathema. The Order remains a construct of the Sidereals, and has adapted over time to changing circumstances and events.

As it stands, the Order teaches that the Dragon-Blooded are souls that are closer to completing the cycle of reincarnation and attaining perfect enlightenment. Souls that reach this stage can channel Essence better than inferior (mortal) souls, and therefore deserve respect. However, there are many pitfalls on the last stages of existance, and it is easy for the Terrestrials to fail their sacred duty, or to simply not be ready to ascend yet. To aid these individuals, the entire Order seeks always to help both mortals and Terrestrials understand their place in society and with themselves.

The Immaculate Order remains an order dedicated to obediance and humility, but compassion and charity have slowly gained prominence with many monks, sometimes being considered the actual prime virtues. The Order teaches that it is important to seek to better yourself in your life, but never at the expense of others and never at the expense of the social order; personal understanding and enlightenment are for the best. The Order supports the idea of an artistocratic society, in general, but is not openly opposed to republican ideals such as Balmori; in fact, it tends not to become heavily involved in politics at all, at least officially.

Territories

When the Shogunate spread across the world, it took the Immaculate Order with it, and that remains true to this very day. Although other religions may threaten the Immaculates, the Order exists in every major nation save Rathess, and in every region of the world.

The Order's headquarters are in Pangu, on the slopes of the Imperial Mountain, and the Blessed Isle is among their prime strongholds. However, Deheleshen and Chiaroscuro also count the Order as their official state religion, and tend to react poorly to other religions. In addition to these juggernauts, the Order has a strong presence in many of the former Shogunate nations on the outskirts of most of the major nations, as well as having a noticeable presence in both New Estasia and the Western League. In the former, the Immaculate Order is not seen as a threat due to its orderly set of virtues, which the Cult of the Machine God finds understandable, and due to its general respect for authority. In the latter, the Order is only one of dozens of competing religions, but old habits die hard and many of the League's members consider themselves Immaculates (albeit lapsed ones, often).

Rathess and Autochthon do not have a notable Immaculate presence. The Dragon Kings consider Immaculate doctrine to be a terrible heresy that is immensely insulting to their Solar allies and the Unconquered Sun in general, and the Deathlords don't hold with any religion that is in favour of the cycle of reincarnation. In exchange, devout Immaculates consider the Dragon Kings to be either deluded fools or horrible monsters, and the Deathlords to be a general abomination upon the world - especially with the recent rise of the Abyssal Exalted.

Membership

Membership in the Order tends to cover entire social areas, regions where families have been worshippers of the Order for generations. It is soothing, familiar, and has a place for everyone and everything. It incorporates spirits through the intercession of Immaculate monks, and the simple fact is that most areas where the Immaculates are strong really do find themselves more prosperous, simply because spirits are forced to behave and monsters cannot easily threaten.

In addition, the Order counts almost all of the Dragon-Blooded among its ranks, which is a critical part of its power. Dragon-Blooded monks help to preach to the populace and restrain errant spirits, or even join the Wyld Hunt and fight deadly Anathema and other beasts.

Exalted

Dragon-Blooded are the only Exalted that truly count to the Order. They are not godlings, but they are superior beings that should be respected and not made fun of; instant aristocrats, as it were. God-blooded of all sorts are signs of the weakness of the world, but should not be considered inherently evil; many of them can either transcend their fallen nature (in the case of half-caste Anathema, demon-blooded, ghost-blooded, or fae-blooded) or show a fragment of their divinity (in the case of true god-bloods), and are generally supposed to be treated the same as any other mortal (although known god-bloods with monstrous blood are watched closely and viewed with suspicion).

Solar and Lunar Anathema are to be hated, reviled, and reported, and many Immaculates believe quite strongly in this. The Anathema are demons who have stolen the bodies of loved ones through treachery and deceit; only when they die will the person's soul be freed.

The Alchemicals are a strange conundrum; the Immaculates generally consider soulstones to be an affront, if not a horror, as they are an attempt to control the Dragons' choices. The Alchemicals themselves tread dangerously close to the line of the Anathema. However, they are mechanical in nature, and although they are generally distrusted and carefully watched when they travel in Immaculate lands, they are not killed on sight or considered to be demonic beings.